Time of Grace With Pastor Mike Novotny

Jesus became fully human in order to live as we do. He was tempted by the same things we are tempted by, yet he remained perfect and died for our sins. His work brings us fully into God’s family. And that means God will sustain us, he claims us as his own, and he will help us along the way with anything we need. When we give our hearts to Jesus in faith, his holiness and righteous become ours.

Watch this first episode in Pastor Jeske's new Advent message series and be empowered to give Jesus more of your attention as you prepare for his birth. Learn how you can give him the attention he deserves! 

When we think of thankfulness, we often forget to actually thank the One who gives us all things—our God and Savior. Gratitude is a learned behavior, but when we are connected to Jesus, we are able to recognize the miracles that he performs around us every day. We are able to see the blessings and gifts that he has given us. He shows us that we are valuable to him, and we thank him for his abundant grace.

We've all heard people say "I can cope with anything as long as I have my health." But what if you don't have that? 

In this week's episode of Time of Grace, learn how to have confidence and trust in God even as you suffer with health problems.

Death is a sad part of our lives, but it doesn’t mean the end for us or for our loved ones. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we too will rise. We can take comfort and be secure knowing that our Christian loved ones will be in heaven waiting for us because Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

We may suffer financial loss in our lives, but we are rich in many ways because we are God’s children. Despite financial setbacks, we are wealthy because our treasure lies in heaven. We live our lives knowing that we can measure our success not on our many failures but on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ.

During Jesus’ time on this earth, he not only brought people into the faith and not only promised them everlasting life. But he also brought the gift of bodily healing into their lives then and he still does so today. Ultimately, we will all be healed in heaven.

In the last book of the Bible, St. John the Revelator brings us God’s guarantee that he has sealed us for everlasting life. Our time of grace on this earth is short; now is the time to refresh our faith by being in his Word and then to share that faith with others so they too can be in heaven.

When we as individuals or as a congregation share the message of Jesus, we don’t want to put obstacles in the way that turn people off from it or confuse them. Sometimes we are so inwardly focused or are so stuck on tradition or so focused on a particular sin someone is committing that we forget to lead with the gospel. It’s important to share the gospel first so others know they are loved and forgiven by God. God’s Word and power will do the rest.

The difficulties and brokenness in our lives are not indications of how much God loves us. These things happen because we live in a sinful world, yet God uses that brokenness to help us recognize our need for a Savior and to draw us closer to him. Ezekiel’s vision reminds us that God is with us and through the ministry of his angels we are protected.